Albuquerque rocked by latest police shooting

Apr. 22, 2014
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Christopher Sedillo, right ,touches the casket of James Boyd, the homeless man who was fatally shot last month by Albuquerque police officers during an April 13 memorial service at St. Martin's Hospitality Center in Albuquerque, N.M. / Adolphe Pierre-Louis, Albuquerque Journal, via AP

by John Bacon and Doug Stanglin, USA TODAY

by John Bacon and Doug Stanglin, USA TODAY

Another fatal shooting of a suspect by police has rattled the city of Albuquerque, where a string of killings has sparked sometimes violent protests in recent weeks.

An officer was put on administrative leave after shooting Mary Hawkes, 19, who was suspected in an auto theft, Police Chief Gorden Eden said. She is the third person to be killed by an officer in five weeks.

"An officer pursued on foot when the suspect stopped, turned and pointed a handgun at close range," Eden said. He didn't identify the officer, and police didn't say how many shots were fired.

Hawkes, the adopted daughter of recently retired Valencia County Magistrate Danny Hawkes, was the first woman to be killed by city police in about 10 years, the Albuquerque Journal said.

A candlelight vigil and peaceful protest were held at the spot where Hawkes was killed before dawn Monday. But a distraught man saying he was her fiance was arrested after brandishing two pellet guns at the crowd of about 30 people, the Journal reported. He told officers he wanted police to kill him.

The shooting of Hawkes took place less than two weeks after a U.S. Justice Department investigation of the city's police force found that the department "engages in a pattern or practice of use of excessive force, including deadly force."

Street protests and demands for reform in the city of more than 555,000 people erupted last month after heavily armed police shot and killed James Boyd, a homeless man who had a history of violent outbursts and mental instability.

At the time, Boyd was the 37th person shot by Albuquerque police, and the 23rd fatality, since January 2010. Most of those killings were unconstitutional, the Justice Department's investigation found.

The department notified Eden and Mayor Richard Berry of its findings April 10 in its letter from Jocelyn Samuels, acting assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division.

The letter said actions by police violated the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, which covers such areas as unreasonable searches and seizures.

The Justice Department letter said its investigation determined that "structural and systemic deficiencies" in the Albuquerque Police Department, such as insufficient oversight and inadequate training, "contribute to the use of unreasonable force."

"Albuquerque police officers often use deadly force in circumstances where there is no imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm to officers or others," Samuels wrote. "Instead, officers used deadly forces against people who posed a minimal threat, including individuals who posed a threat only to themselves or who were unarmed."

Berry issued a statement when the report was released saying the city would work with the Justice Department to make changes and that he expects a federal monitor to track progress. The Justice Department and the city are negotiating a consent decree to ensure change.

"It won't be quick and easy, but we can achieve it," Berry said in the statement.

Even before the report was released, Berry announced last week the hiring of Robert Huntsman as deputy police chief to oversee the implementation of the expected recommendations. Huntsman was among those involved in the investigation of Monday's shooting.